
Vault for Hiroshima A-bomb victims shown to media
The ashes of about 70,000 victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in August 1945 in the closing days of World War II are inside the vault. Of them, those of 812 people are unclaimed, although their names have been identified.
With this year marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing, the city opened the vault for the first time in 10 years so that bereaved relatives will be found for as many remains as possible.
Every year, the Hiroshima city government sends the list of ashes to local governments across the country. Last month, for the first time in two years, a bereaved relative of one of the unclaimed victims was found. So far, bereaved relatives have been found for the remains of 1,625 victims.
"We hope as many people as possible will know about the existence of the memorial mound and renew their feelings of consolation for the souls of the atomic bomb victims," a city official said.
The memorial mound was built in 1955. Unclaimed remains from various places are stored with name tags on shelves inside the vault. The ashes of unknown individuals rest in wooden boxes.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NHK
19 hours ago
- NHK
Kids in Nagasaki create giant sunflower maze
Some children in western Japan have been enjoying a giant maze created in a field with about 40,000 sunflowers. Students at Otsuka Elementary School in Unzen City, Nagasaki Prefecture, came up with the idea for a sunflower maze as a new attraction for the area. They worked with locals for two years to create it. After the seeds were sown in late June, the children prepared the entrance sign and drew up the route to the end. The field is around 3,500 square meters. Kids can have fun exploring the maze, surrounded by sunflowers that have grown as tall as them. The children said they hope many people will come and visit. The sunflower maze will be open to the public through Sunday.


Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
U.S. Osprey makes emergency landing at Iwate airport
A U.S. Osprey military aircraft made an emergency landing on Thursday in Iwate Prefecture, the latest in a string of mishaps and accidents involving the controversial tilt-rotor plane. The pilot contacted Iwate Hanamaki Airport in the prefecture, saying they wanted to land due to a technical glitch, an official at the airport said. The aircraft landed without incident, and the crew did not request emergency medical assistance, he said. Officials from U.S. Forces Japan could not be reached for immediate comment. Television footage from the airport showed a few uniformed U.S. military personnel standing outside the parked aircraft. National broadcaster NHK also showed a video of the Osprey making a vertical landing at the airport. The Hanamaki airport official said the incident did not impact the operation of the airport. Ospreys can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and rotate their propellers forward to fly like a plane. The aircraft has been involved in accidents and several deadly crashes, including one off southern Japan in 2023 when all eight people on board were killed. The fatal crash prompted the U.S. military to ground the aircraft worldwide. Regional Japanese military personnel were heading to Hanamaki to study the latest incident, a defense official said.


NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
Japan, US, Australia, India coast guards hold 1st joint drill on same vessel
Coast guard personnel from Japan, the United States, Australia and India have carried out a joint mission aboard a US patrol ship in the Pacific. It marked the first time members of the four-nation Quad framework have conducted a drill on the same vessel. The joint boarding exercise stems from an agreement reached at the Quad leaders summit last September to boost maritime security cooperation among member nations. The Japan Coast Guard says participants from the four countries departed Palau on June 28 aboard the US ship and spent five days sailing to Guam. Japanese officials say the team took part in onboard operations and held a firefighting drill simulating a blaze aboard the ship. The exercise aimed to strengthen cooperation among the four countries, apparently with China's growing maritime activities in mind.